Graduation

On Friday, JP and I attended the graduation ceremony as guests of a family we know, only it wasn't for the secondary school graduates, but for a five-year-old "graduating" from preschool in preparation for first grade in primary school next year!

I was fairly confused by this, and at first thought it would just be a simple, short ceremony with maybe some punch and cookies.  We went to visit the family, Beatriz and her son, Jheison (say 'Jason'), the graduate.  This is the family whose house the Brophy trip worked on in 2008.  My first clue that I was wrong came when we were talking with the family and they referred to needing to rent a suit for the five-year-old for the ceremony.  When we got to the preschool, which is right across the street from our house, these boys were decked out:

Of course, they were still five (maybe six by now), so while the teacher was welcoming the parents and congratulating the graduates, they wanted to play with the decorations.

After the welcome, the kids performed a dance for us--a waltz--which mostly consisted of them standing together, swaying stiffly, while the teachers encouraged them to put more feeling into it and the parents told the kids to face in different directions for photos.

 

Jheison, our graduate, is dancing with the very serious Cecilia in the white dress. (Note: both the dresses and suits can be rented and returned, not bought.)  Since I didn't want to be like one of the annoying parents, I did not jump up and knock the other kids out of the way to get a picture.  After that, the kids danced with their parents, so here are Jheison and Beatriz:

Just when we were starting to think we were at a wedding, it was time for diplomas.  The diplomas included an individual and class photo and were individually presented. Here are JP and Jheison:

 

After that, it was time for the entertainment.  The school had hired a payaso, or clown, to come and entertain the kids. 

Through my American lens I was expecting magic tricks and balloon animals, but instead the clown was more like an activity leader, having the kids do a dance off or sing-a-long, and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

The activities went on for a while, and eventually we went outside to stretch our legs from the little kindergarten chairs and talked with Beatriz about the event. She was curious about if the graduation was similar to what we did in the States and we had to explain that we don't make a big deal (ceremonially at least) out of the transition from kindergarten to first grade, and that it seemed kind of elaborate for the age of the kids and the occasion. She explained that the parents pushed for the big event, saying that it marks the end of a stage of their development, and should be celebrated. All of this comes at a cost, of course, and the parents are the ones who paid for the clown and the snacks, and had contributed money for a hot dinner for everyone, plus a three-tiered cake.  She sort of agreed that it was over the top but also that they wanted it to be a good experience for the kids and to mark the transition.  While it was an interesting afternoon/evening (I think we were there for 3 1/2 hours!), I am not rooting for this to catch on in the States.

Here's one last look at the graduates:

Enjoy!